Dollar Store Beach Treasure Box

I found these wooden boxes at the Dollar Tree in March or April and bought 10 of them thinking I'd figure out something to do with them for one of my art classes.

They are small, about 3 X 3", and have brass hinges on the back.  This week I was inspired to go with an Ocean theme.  I went to www.graphicsfairy.blogspot.com and did a search in their The Sea section.  I found several images and printed up a page with several then I chose the little beach girl for my example.

First I painted the box with Acrylic paint and let it dry.

Then I trimmed the image to size and used Beacon Fast Finish Decoupage to bond the image to the painted box.  I brushed one coat on the box, placed the image in the center and then put a quick coat over both the box and the image.  I painted the first coat of fast finish quickly so the printer ink wouldn't smear.  After that was completely dry I added another coat of Fast Finish over the entire top of the box.

The next step was to hot glue a couple of shells to the box.

Then I used Mod Podge and painted a thin layer around the edge of the image and to the edge of the lid of the box.  I also painted the sea shells.

Then I used Extra Fine Glitter in "Glitz" and quickly covered all the areas I had coated with Mod Podge, and then tapped the box onto a paper plate to collect the extra glitter.  The extra glitter can be re-used.

After that was dry I put a few stick on rhinestones on for one last bit of sparkle.

The bottom half of the box can also be decorated, but I felt that was enough steps for my class at the retirement center.

Now you have a special place for all those beach combing treasures.

Give it a try!  Fun for a birthday party activity - print out any theme images and use paint colors to match.